Los Angeles Rams make right choice not giving Trumaine Johnson long-term deal

For the second year in a row, Trumaine Johnson will be playing under the franchise tag with the Los Angeles Rams.

Life is good for Trumaine Johnson of the Los Angeles Rams at the moment when considering he’s going to be the league’s highest-paid cornerback in 2017 at just under $17 million since the team made the decision this offseason to use the franchise tag for the second year in a row. But one of the hottest debates from the last couple of months in regards to the Rams was whether Johnson would eventually receive a long-term deal.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, that will not be the case after reporting on Tuesday that Johnson and the Rams will not reach an agreement on a deal before the July 17 deadline, which means the cornerback could be playing with an extra chip on his shoulder in 2017. One would think Los Angeles would have no issue rewarding Johnson with a long-term deal when seeing all of the money invested in the cornerback over the last two seasons, but there’s a lot more to the situation in the long run.

More from Ramblin' Fan

• As feared, this coveted DC is already quickly off the market
• Looks like Rams DC Raheem Morris won’t be the HC for this team
• 4 LA Rams villains we want to see blow it in the AFC and NFC title games
• LA Rams coaching staff shake-up summary
• Rich Eisen talks NFL HC search and LA Rams candidates

For starters, if the Rams were truly convinced Johnson was capable of handling the duties of a No. 1 cornerback on defense, they would have given him a new deal a long time ago. Keep in mind that Johnson’s production was down in 2016 after only recording one interception in 14 games (he recorded seven in 2015), and while the decision to not reach a long-term deal may seem frustrating on his end, this seems like what’s best for Los Angeles as a franchise.

As bad as it sounds, the decision to keep Johnson under the franchise tag for a second year in a row seemed to be influenced by the Rams being in a position where they couldn’t afford to lose him in free agency, like last year when Janoris Jenkins ended up signing with the New York Giants. Obviously, the defense is going to be the real difference maker when it comes to whether Los Angeles has what it takes to compete in the NFC West this upcoming season, and the possibility of losing Johnson to free agency would have put them in a tougher position.

Next: NFL Power Rankings: Rams edition

At least with the Rams holding off on a hefty deal for Johnson, the team can focus on spending that money on other key players at different positions, mainly Aaron Donald. With all due respect to Johnson, Los Angeles focusing on working out a new deal for their defensive superstar in Donald is clearly what’s best for the team at the moment, and it’s not even a close debate.